Holly MatkinDetroit, MI – A 22-year-old man who recorded himself pummeling a 75-year-old military veteran inside a Detroit nursing home for more than a minute will not face criminal charges in connection with the brutal attack.
Jadon Hayden was arrested on multiple counts of assault after video footage showed him brutally beating Norman Bledsoe at the Westwood Nursing Center in May of 2020.
The suspect set up a camera and recorded the horrific beatdown, and the footage caused outrage as it spread like wildfire across social media platforms.
Bledsoe was sitting slumped-over on a bed at the beginning of the video.
Jadon Hayden immediately began hitting him repeatedly with both fists, punching him relentlessly until Bledsoe started bleeding from his head.
“See this b–ch -ss n—-r here?” the suspect said, grabbing the camera to show the victim’s bloodied face. “Get the f–k off my bed, n—-r.”
The suspect paused momentarily to wipe the elderly man’s blood off with a white sheet.
“F–k wrong with you?” Jadon Hayden asked just before the video ended.
According to investigators, the attacker also posted footage that showed him beating a female patient who was confined to her bed, WXYZ reported.
NEW: Police have arrested a man for allegedly beating an elderly man in a nursing home in Detroit, Michigan, after videos of the incident surfaced online.
***Warning: Graphic Content***pic.twitter.com/32OPYXL5Aw
— Alex Salvi (@alexsalvinews) May 22, 2020
Detroit police launched an investigation immediately after they were made aware of the video and determined that the attack occurred at the Westwood Nursing Center on May 15, 2020, The Detroit News reported.
“The nursing home was unaware of the assault until they saw the video,” Detroit Police Chief James Craig said during a press conference at the time. “We are still investigating that aspect of the case, but we do have a suspect in custody.”
Marty Hayden, the father of Jadon Hayden, said his son is autistic, suffers from schizophrenia, and that he has a history of assaultive behavior, WXYZ reported.
He was residing in a group home in Washtenaw County prior to contracting COVID-19 in 2020, Marty Hayden said.
“He was in crisis mode,” he explained, noting that his son told him he was hearing voices and that he believed people were trying to kill him.
After being diagnosed with COVID-19 at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor in early May of 2020, Jadon Hayden was admitted into the Westwood Nursing Center to recover, his father said.
Bledsoe, a U.S. Army veteran, was Jadon Hayden’s roommate at the nursing home.
“They dropped the ball,” Marty Hayden told WXYZ. “Why would they put my child in a nursing home? All around elderly people?”
Jadon Hayden’s attorney, Brian Berry, said nursing home officials “should have known” about the risk his client posed.
“I think the facility had an idea of who Jadon was and what type of treatment he needed,” Berry told WXYZ. “I think they knew, or had a history, that he was schizophrenic and it should have been handled differently.”
Bledsoe passed away at another nursing facility approximately two months after the attack, WXYZ reported.
His death was not ruled as a homicide, but details regarding his cause of death were not released.
Bledsoe’s family has filed a lawsuit against the Westwood Nursing Center.
Jadon Hayden was charged with two counts of assault with intent to do great bodily harm, but those charges were dismissed after he was found incompetent to stand trial, WXYZ reported.
He is now residing in a secured psychiatric hospital in the area of Kalamazoo.
Marty Hayden said his son “shouldn’t be in prison” because he cannot understand the consequences of his actions due to his mental health conditions, WXYZ reported.
Berry said the charges against his client could be refiled, but that he doesn’t think that will happen.
“Jadon’s condition is not going to change very much,” the attorney told WXYZ.
Marty Hayden said he believes his son was set up to fail and that Bledsoe was set up to be a victim.
He extended his condolences to Bledsoe’s family and said he hopes that those responsible for placing his son in the nursing home will be held accountable for the consequences of his son’s actions, WXYZ reported.
